JP2007325648A - Token dispensing system and token dispensing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly dispense tokens to a player by efficiently preventing the situation of invalidating the token dispensing operation of the player for the reason that a pachinko slot machine is in a state during a game when dispensing the tokens to the pachinko slot machine via a token dispensing machine. <P>SOLUTION: A PRDY signal line C is provided between the pachinko slot machine 10 and the token dispensing machine 30, and PRDY signals indicating whether or not the pachinko slot machine 10 is in the state during the game are notified to the token dispensing machine 30 through the PRDY signal line C. In the token dispensing machine 30, even when the token dispensing operation is performed, when the PRDY signal is ON indicating the state during the game, timing is adjusted until it becomes OFF, and dispensing instruction signals are transmitted to the pachinko slot machine 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the present invention, a medal lending machine provided communicably with a pachislot machine accepts a recording medium valued with money or valuable value and performs a medal lending process. In response to the medal lending process, a medal is received from the pachislot machine. Regarding the medal lending system and the medal lending method to be lent, particularly when the medal lending is performed to the pachislot machine via the medal lending machine, the medal lending operation of the player is invalidated because the pachislot machine is in a game state. The present invention relates to a medal lending system and a medal lending method capable of efficiently preventing a situation and smoothly lending medals to a player.

  Conventionally, a pachislot machine called a so-called pachislot machine has been provided with a medal lending machine that lends medals necessary for pachislot games, as described in Patent Document 1, and a player can put banknotes on this medal lending machine. In addition to borrowing medals, the borrowed medals were thrown into pachislot machines for pachislot games.

  As described above, when playing a pachislot game, it is common to borrow money from the medal lending machine by inserting money into the medal lending machine, but with the recent deregulation, the player borrows the medal. The appearance of a CR pachislot machine that throws out medals from the main body is expected.

  In such a CR pachislot machine, when a player presses a lending button arranged on the CR pachislot machine after inserting a prepaid card or cash purchased in advance by the player into the medal lending machine, a medal is thrown from the CR pachislot machine body. Will be issued.

JP 2003-135672 A

  However, even if the CR unit installed in the current CR pachinko machine is simply incorporated into the pachislot machine, the medal lending process is prohibited during the pachislot machine due to the control characteristics of the pachislot machine. become. For this reason, even if the player presses the lending button, this medal lending operation is ignored if the pachislot machine side is playing the game.

  Specifically, in a pachislot machine, when a player inserts a medal into the medal slot and operates the start button, the drum with the pattern attached rotates, and then when the player presses the stop button, the drum rotates. When the drum is stopped and the winning combination is won, the number of prize medals corresponding to the winning combination is paid out from the medal hopper. However, during the period from the start button operation to the payout of award medals, it is considered that the game is in progress, and medals are not lent.

  For this reason, it is important how to prevent the situation where the player's medal lending operation is invalidated because the pachislot machine is in the game state when medals are lent to the pachislot machine via the medal lending machine. It is a difficult issue.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems (problems), and when a medal is rented to a pachislot machine through a medal lending machine, the player's reason is that the pachislot machine is in a game state. An object of the present invention is to provide a medal lending system and a medal lending method capable of efficiently preventing a medal lending operation from being invalidated and smoothly lending medals to a player.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a medal lending process in which a medal lending machine provided so as to be communicable with a pachislot machine accepts a recording medium worth money or valuable value, and performs the medal lending process. A medal lending system for lending medal from the pachislot machine in response, wherein the pachislot machine determines whether or not the pachislot machine is in a game state, and the determination result by the determination means is the medal A notification means for notifying the lending machine, wherein the medal lending machine receives a signal indicating that a predetermined medal lending operation has been performed, and receives a determination result indicating that the game is not in progress by the notification means In addition, the medal lending process is performed.

  Further, in the present invention according to the above invention, the determination means receives an operation of a start lever for starting rotation of the drum to which the pattern is stuck, and then controls the stop of the drum and pays out the award medal at the time of winning. It is determined that the game is in the game state.

  Further, the present invention is the above invention, wherein the determination result notification signal line by the determination means is disposed between the pachislot machine and the medal lending machine, and the notification means is in a game state by the determination means The first signal indicating the in-game state is sent to the determination result notification signal line while the determination result is determined not to be in the game state. A second signal indicating that the game is not in progress is sent to the notification signal line.

  Further, the present invention is the above invention, wherein the pachislot machine further comprises an abnormal state detection means for detecting whether or not the pachislot machine is in an abnormal state, and the notification means is not in a game state by the determination means. And when the abnormal state is not detected by the abnormal state detecting means, the second signal is transmitted to the determination result notification signal line, and otherwise, the first signal is transmitted. It is characterized by doing.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, when the medal lending machine receives a signal indicating that a predetermined medal lending operation is performed, a signal received from the determination result notification signal line is the first signal. In this case, after the signal received from the determination result notification signal line changes from the first signal to the second signal, a lending instruction is given to the pachislot machine.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, the medal lending machine performs error processing when a signal received from the determination result notification signal line does not change from the first signal to the second signal for a predetermined period. It is characterized by performing.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, a medal lending machine provided communicably with a pachislot machine accepts a recording medium valued with money or valuable value, performs a medal lending process, and responds to the medal lending process. A medal lending method for lending medals from the pachislot machine, wherein the pachislot machine determines whether or not the pachislot machine is in a game state, and the determination result of the determination step is the medal lending machine. When the medal lending machine receives a signal indicating that a predetermined medal lending operation has been performed, and the determination means that the notifying state is not in effect is received by the notifying means. And a lending process step for lending processing.

  According to the present invention, the pachi-slot machine determines whether or not the pachi-slot machine is in a game state, notifies the determination result to the medal lending machine, and the medal lending machine performs a predetermined medal lending operation. In the in-game state in which the pachislot machine cannot substantially perform the medal lending process because the medal lending process is performed when the signal indicating that the state is not in-game state is received. It is possible to efficiently prevent the medal lending machine side from recognizing whether or not there is a situation, and the medal lending machine repeating a useless lending instruction to the pachislot machine.

  Further, according to the present invention, the game is in a state from when the operation of the start lever for starting the rotation of the drum to which the pattern is attached until the drum is stopped and the prize medal is paid out at the time of winning. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately cope with the current pachislot machine.

  In addition, according to the present invention, a determination result notification signal line is provided between the pachislot machine and the medal lending machine, and the determination result notification signal line is connected to the determination result notification signal line while it is determined that the game is in progress. The first signal indicating the middle state is transmitted, and the second signal indicating the non-game state is transmitted to the determination result notification signal line while it is determined that the state is not the game state. Therefore, the medal lending machine can efficiently grasp whether or not the pachislot machine is in the game state simply by checking the dedicated signal line.

  Further, according to the present invention, the pachislot machine detects whether or not the pachislot machine is in an abnormal state, determines that the pachislot machine is not in a game state, and notifies the determination result when an abnormal state is not detected. Since the second signal is sent to the signal line and the first signal is sent in other cases, even if the pachislot machine is not in a game state, an abnormality such as an empty medal hopper or a clogged medal In the case of occurrence of medals, the medal lending process is not performed, so that inappropriate medal lending can be suppressed and smooth and efficient actual operation can be provided.

  According to the present invention, when the medal lending machine receives a signal indicating that a predetermined medal lending operation has been performed and the signal received from the determination result notification signal line is the first signal, The reason for the fact that the pachislot machine is in a game because the lending instruction is given to the pachislot machine after the signal received from the determination result notification signal line changes from the first signal to the second signal. In addition, it is possible to efficiently prevent a situation where the player's medal lending operation is invalidated, and to smoothly lend medals to the player.

  According to the invention, the medal lending machine is configured to perform error processing when the signal received from the determination result notification signal line does not change from the first signal to the second signal for a predetermined period. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the situation in which the player waits for the medal lending for a long time despite the occurrence of the error.

  Exemplary embodiments of a medal lending system and a medal lending method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Schematic configuration of medal lending system)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a medal lending system according to the present embodiment. Here, the prepaid card used in the present embodiment is given a valuable value called “frequency” which is a reference for borrowing medals.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the medal lending system according to this embodiment, a plurality of pachislot machines 10 are arranged for each group called “island”, and an island controller 60, a card issuing machine are provided in the terminal controller 70. 20, a card updating machine 40, and a card settlement machine 50 are connected. The pachislot machine 10 and the medal lending machine 30 are connected to the island controller 60.

  The pachislot machine 10 is a gaming machine in which a medal is inserted into a medal slot, three drums are rotated, and a game is performed by aligning a pattern by sequentially pressing a stop button. The pachi-slot machine 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a CR pachi-slot machine that mainly plays using a prepaid card together with the use of money. The prepaid card is inserted into the medal lending machine 30 to borrow a medal. Yes. A detailed description of the pachislot machine 10 and the medal lending machine 30 will be described later.

  The card issuing machine 20 is an issuing machine that issues a prepaid card. Specifically, when a player inserts money and presses a button of a desired amount, a prepaid card with a corresponding amount of money is valued. A card is issued. The frequency is not stored in the prepaid card itself, and only card identification information (card number) is magnetically recorded. The frequency of the prepaid card is managed by the terminal controller 70 in association with the card identification information.

  The medal lending machine 30 is a processing machine that performs a medal lending process within the range of the remaining number of prepaid cards inserted from the player. Specifically, the medal lending machine 30 indicates the frequency associated with the card identification information of the prepaid card. The main function is medal lending processing with an upper limit. The medal lending machine 30 is prepared as a medal lending machine for one or two pachislot machines 10 installed in an amusement shop, and is usually installed in a form sandwiched between the pachislot machines 10. .

  The card renewal machine 40 is a device that performs a process of issuing a prepaid card whose expiration date has passed as a new prepaid card, and the card settlement machine 50 is a device that performs a process of paying back the frequency associated with the prepaid card as cash. It is. At least one terminal controller 70 is installed in each game store, and is a management device that manages the card ID of the prepaid card and the remaining number in association with each other.

(Appearance structure of pachislot machines and medal rental machines)
Next, the external configuration of the pachislot machine 10 and the medal lending machine 30 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the appearance of the pachislot machine 10 and the medal lending machine 30 shown in FIG. The pachislot machine 10 is a so-called CR pachislot machine that plays a game using medals borrowed using money or a prepaid card. As shown in FIG. 1, a lending button 101 and a return button 102 that are operation units related to a prepaid card are used. A card balance display unit 103 for displaying a card balance, a medal slot 104, a start lever 105, three drums 106 to 108, stop buttons 109 to 111 for stopping the rotation of each drum, and the remaining credit amount , A credit display unit 112 for displaying three, a credit insertion button 113 to 115 for one to one, and a payout display unit 116 for displaying the number of medals obtained when the patterns of the three drums 106 to 108 are aligned. And accepting award medals and rental medals paid out from the inside of the pachislot machine 10 Only and a dish 117.

  In this pachislot machine 10, when 1 to 3 medals are inserted into the medal insertion slot 104 and the start lever 105 is operated, the three drums 106 to 108 rotate, and the stop buttons 109 to 111 of the respective drums are pressed. Then, each drum 106-108 stops. When the number of medals remains in the credit display unit 112, when the credit insertion button 113 is pressed and the start lever 105 is operated, three medals are inserted into the medal insertion slot 104 and the start lever 105 is operated. Similarly to the case, the three drums 106 to 108 rotate. In addition, in the case of a three-row game in which three medals are inserted and a game is played, a total of five rows of three horizontal rows and two diagonal rows are targeted. A pachislot game is held.

  When a certain pattern is arranged in the target areas of the three drums 106 to 108, the number of acquired medals corresponding to the type of the pattern is displayed on the payout display unit 116, and the displayed number of medals are paid out. Specifically, this medal is not immediately paid out to the tray 117 but is internally held as credit, and the display content of the credit display unit 112 is added by the number of medals.

  The medal lending machine 30 is configured as a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped housing, and on its front panel, a card lamp 301, a cash lamp 302, a bill slot 303, a return lever 304, a type lamp 305, and a money amount display unit 306 are provided. A money amount setting button 307 and a card insertion slot 308 are provided.

  The card lamp 301 and the cash lamp 302 are for informing the player of a prepaid card and cash acceptability state. The bill insertion slot 303 is an opening for accepting a bill and taking it into a bill processing unit (bill valid unit) 33 described later. In addition, this banknote process part 33 identifies the denomination of the taken-in banknote, gives this identification result to the control part 39, and guide | leads out the taken-in banknote to a banknote conveyance path so that it may carry out to an island edge collection | recovery box.

  The return lever 304 is for returning the inserted money. The type lamp 305 is used to light and display the type of game medium to be rented, that is, whether a pachinko ball or a medal is lent. Here, since the pachislot machine 10 is arranged between the stands, the medals are turned on.

  The amount setting button 307 is for the user to set the number of medals to be lent (lending unit) each time the lending button of the pachislot machine 10 is operated, and the result is displayed on the amount display unit 306. The The card insertion slot 308 is an opening for receiving a prepaid card and taking it into a card processing unit 34 described later. The card processing unit 34 reads the taken-in card and performs a process of giving the read result to the control unit 39.

(Signal line between pachislot machine and medal lending machine)
Next, the signal lines arranged between the pachislot machine 10 and the medal lending machine 30 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a signal line disposed between the pachislot machine 10 and the medal lending machine 30 shown in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, between the pachislot machine 10 and the medal lending machine 30, a lending request signal line A for transmitting a medal lending request signal from the pachislot machine 10 to the medal lending machine 30, and medal lending. A lending instruction signal line B for transmitting a medal lending instruction signal from the machine 30 to the pachislot machine 10 is provided. These signal lines are conventionally provided. Specifically, when the lending button 101 provided on the pachislot machine 10 is pressed, the lending request signal is sent through the lending request signal line A. When the lending machine 30 is notified and the medal lending machine 30 inquires of the terminal controller 70 about the remaining number of prepaid cards and confirms that the remaining number exists, the lending instruction signal is sent to the pachislot machine 10 via the lending instruction signal line B. Will be notified.

  In the present embodiment, apart from these signal lines, a PRDY signal line C is provided between the pachislot machine 10 and the medal lending machine 30. The PRDY signal line C is a signal line for notifying the medal lending machine 30 of a PRDY signal indicating whether or not the pachislot machine 10 is in a game state. As described above, the reason for notifying the medal lending machine 30 whether or not the pachislot machine 10 is in a game state is that the pachislot machine 10 lends a medal when the pachislot machine 10 is in a game state. This is because the lending instruction signal from the medal lending machine 30 may be ignored.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the state of the pachislot machine 10 and the PRDY signal. As shown in the figure, in the pachislot machine 10, when a player inserts a medal from the medal slot 104 and operates the start lever 105, the three drums 106 to 108 rotate, and the stop button 109 of each drum is rotated. When .about.111 is pressed, the respective drums 106 to 108 are stopped, and award medals are paid out when winning.

  Here, the period from the operation of the start lever 105 to the payout of the award medals is in the game state, and the medal lending prohibition state in which the medal lending is prohibited is set. The PRDY signal is “ON” in the game state, that is, the medal lending prohibited state, and “OFF” in the non-game state, that is, the medal lending available state. However, when the payout of a prize medal such as a small role or a jackpot is not established, the game can be in a state until the time when the drum is stopped or until it is determined that the prize medal is not paid out.

(Internal configuration of pachislot machine)
Next, the internal configuration of the pachislot machine 10 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing an internal configuration of the pachislot machine 10 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the pachislot machine 10 includes a display unit 11, an operation unit 12, a storage unit 13, a power supply unit 14, a game mechanism unit 15, an interface unit 16, and a control unit 17.

  The display unit 11 is a collective term for the card balance display unit 103, the credit display unit 112, and the payout display unit 116 shown in FIG. 2, and the operation unit 12 includes the lending button 101, the return button 102, and the start lever shown in FIG. 105, a collective term for stop buttons 109 to 111 and credit insertion buttons 113 to 115. The storage unit 13 is a storage device that stores game programs, setting data, temporary data, and the like, and the power supply unit 14 is a power supply that supplies power to the entire pachislot machine 10.

  The game mechanism unit 15 is a mechanism unit related to games such as the three drums 106 to 108, the drive units of the drums 106 to 108, the medal hopper, and various sensors, and the I / F unit 16 includes the PRDY shown in FIG. This is an interface unit for data communication with the medal lending machine 30 via the signal line C or the like.

  The control unit 17 is a control unit that controls the entire pachislot machine 10, and includes a game state monitoring unit 17a, a PRDY signal transmission unit 17b, a lending processing unit 17c, and a game control unit 17d. The gaming state monitoring unit 17a is a processing unit that monitors the status of the operation unit 12 and the gaming mechanism unit 15 and determines whether or not the pachislot machine 10 is in a game state.

  The PRDY signal transmitting unit 17b is a processing unit that transmits a PRDY signal corresponding to the determination result of the gaming state monitoring unit 17a to the medal lending machine 30 via the PRDY signal line C, and specifically, the gaming state monitoring unit 17a. If it is determined that the game is in progress, the PRDY signal is turned “ON”. If it is determined that the game is not being played, the PRDY signal is turned “OFF”.

  The lending processing unit 17c is a processing unit that performs a payout process for medals for a lending unit when a lending instruction signal is received from the medal lending machine 30, and the game control unit 17d is a pachislot machine for rotating the drums 106 to 108, etc. It is a control part which performs control concerning a game.

(Internal configuration of medal lending machine)
Next, the internal configuration of the medal lending machine 30 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing an internal configuration of the medal lending machine 30 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the medal lending machine 30 includes a display unit 31, an operation unit 32, a bill processing unit 33, a card processing unit 34, a storage unit 35, a power supply unit 36, and an I / F unit. 37 and 38 and a control unit 39.

  The display unit 31 is a generic term for the card lamp 301, the cash lamp 302, the type lamp 305, and the money amount display unit 306 shown in FIG. 2, and the operation unit 32 is a generic term for the return lever 304 and the money amount setting button 307. The banknote processing unit 33 is a processing unit that receives banknotes from the banknote insertion slot 303, transports banknotes, determines the type of banknotes, and determines the authenticity of banknotes, and the card processing unit 34 is inserted from the card insertion port 309. It is a control unit that reads data from a prepaid card or a membership card.

  The storage unit 35 is a storage device that stores medal lending programs, setting data, temporary data, and the like. The power source unit 36 is a power source that supplies power to the entire medal lending machine 30. The I / F unit 37 is a terminal. The I / F unit 38 is an interface unit used for data communication with the pachislot machine 10 via the PRDY signal line C or the like.

  The control unit 39 is a control unit that controls the medal lending machine 30 as a whole, and includes a stand state determination unit 39a and a lending control unit 39b. The stand state determination unit 39a is a processing unit that determines whether or not the pachislot machine 10 is in a game state based on the signal state of the PRDY signal line C. Specifically, the PRDY signal is “ON”. In this case, it is determined that the pachislot machine 10 is in a game state, and when the PRDY signal is “OFF”, it is determined that the pachislot machine 10 is in a non-game state.

  The lending control unit 39b is a control unit that performs medal lending control. When the medal lending request signal is received from the pachislot machine 10, the lending control unit 39b notifies the terminal controller 70 of the card ID of the prepaid card and the remaining of the prepaid card. The frequency is confirmed, and if there is a remaining frequency equal to or greater than the lending unit, a frequency subtraction request is sent to the terminal controller 70 and then a medal lending instruction signal is transmitted to the pachislot machine 10.

  However, the lending control unit 39b is provided with a timing adjusting unit 39c that adjusts the transmission timing of the lending instruction signal transmitted to the pachislot machine 10, and the timing adjusting unit 39c is based on the state of the PRDY signal. If necessary, adjust the transmission timing of the lending instruction signal. Specifically, when the PRDY signal is “ON” at the time when the lending instruction signal is transmitted to the pachislot machine 10, the lending instruction signal is transmitted after the PRDY signal is turned “OFF”. To do. When the PRDY signal is “ON” for a predetermined time (for example, 40 seconds) or longer, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the pachislot machine 10 and the transmission of the lending instruction signal is stopped.

(Sequence of the entire medal lending system)
Next, the overall sequence of the medal lending system according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram for explaining an overall processing procedure performed between the medal lending machine 30, the pachislot machine 10, and the terminal controller 70.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when a prepaid card is inserted into the medal lending machine 30 (step S101), the medal lending machine 30 inquires the terminal controller 70 about the remaining number of the prepaid card (step S102), and the terminal In the controller 70, the remaining number is searched for the prepaid card for which an inquiry has been made (step S103).

  Thereafter, the terminal controller 70 notifies the medal lending machine 30 of the remaining number of prepaid cards (step S104). On the other hand, when the remaining number is notified from the terminal controller 70, the medal lending machine 30 displays the notified remaining number on the card balance display unit 103 (step S105). For example, when the remaining number of prepaid cards notified from the terminal controller 70 is “80”, “80” indicating the remaining number is displayed on the card balance display unit 103.

  Here, when the lending button 101 is pressed by a player who plays a game on the pachislot machine 10 (step S106), the medal lending request signal is notified from the pachislot machine 10 to the medal lending machine 30 (step S107), and the medal lending is performed. The machine 30 makes a subtraction request for the remaining frequency to the terminal controller 70 (step S108). Specifically, when the lending button 101 of the pachislot machine 10 is pressed once, 1000 yen medals (50 sheets) are lent out, so the terminal controller 70 is subtracted by 10 degrees (1000 yen). A request is made.

  On the other hand, the terminal controller 70 subtracts the remaining number of the target prepaid card based on the subtraction request notified from the medal lending machine 30, and when the subtraction of this remaining number is completed (step S109), the medal lending machine An Ack signal is returned to 30 (step S110).

  Upon receiving the Ack signal notified from the terminal controller 70, the medal lending machine 30 checks whether the PRDY signal on the PRDY signal line C is “ON” or “OFF” (step S111). If it is “ON”, after adjusting the transmission timing of the lending instruction signal by waiting until it becomes “OFF” (step S112), the lending instruction signal is transmitted to the pachislot machine 10 (step S113). Upon receiving the lending instruction signal from the medal lending machine 30, the pachislot machine 10 performs medal lending processing for the lending frequency unit (step S114).

(Lending instruction signal transmission timing adjustment)
Next, the transmission timing adjustment of the lending instruction signal shown in step S112 of FIG. 7 will be described more specifically. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure for adjusting the transmission timing of the lending instruction signal shown in step S112 of FIG.

  As shown in the figure, when the medal lending machine 40 receives the Ack signal notified from the terminal controller 70 (step S201), it is confirmed whether or not the PRDY signal on the PRDY signal line C is “ON” ( In step S202), if the PRDY signal is “ON” (Yes in step S202), the PRDY signal line C is continuously monitored (step S203), and whether or not a predetermined time has passed while the PRDY signal is “ON”. Is confirmed (step S204).

  If “ON” continues for a predetermined time or longer (Yes at Step S204), it is assumed that an abnormality has occurred in the pachislot machine 10, error processing is performed, and the processing is terminated (Step S205). That is, in such a case, a lending instruction signal is not transmitted to the pachislot machine 10.

  On the other hand, if the PRDY signal is switched from “ON” to “OFF” by a predetermined time (No at Step S204, No at S202), a lending instruction signal is transmitted to the pachislot machine 10 at this switching timing. (Step S206).

  As described above, in this embodiment, the PRDY signal line C is provided between the pachislot machine 10 and the medal lending machine 30, and whether or not the pachislot machine 10 is in a game state via the PRDY signal line C. Is notified to the medal lending machine 30, and the medal lending machine 30 adjusts the timing until the PRDY signal is turned off if the PRDY signal is ON indicating the in-game state even when the medal lending operation is performed. Since the lending instruction signal is transmitted to the pachislot machine 10, the game is played because the pachislot machine 10 is in a game state when the medal lending is performed to the pachislot machine 10 via the medal lending machine 30. It is possible to efficiently prevent a situation in which a customer's medal lending operation is invalidated, and to smoothly lend medals to a player.

  By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the case where only the pachislot machine 10 is in the game state has been described. However, even if the pachislot machine 10 is in the non-game state, the door of the pachislot machine 10 is It is desirable to avoid lending out medals when they are opened or medals are empty. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, when a medal is empty in the middle of paying out medals, the medal lending is prohibited until the medals are replenished, and the PRDY signal is kept “ON”. It can also be configured. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 10, a table state monitoring unit 82 is provided in the control unit 81 of the pachislot machine 80 to monitor the table state such as medal empty, and the game state monitoring unit 17a determines that it is in a non-game state. In addition, when the stand state monitoring unit 82 determines that the stand state is not abnormal, the PRDY signal transmitting unit 83 may set the PRDY signal to “OFF”, otherwise, the PRDY signal may be set to “ON”. .

  In this embodiment, the case where the lending button 101 is provided on the pachislot machine 10 side has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the lending button 101 may be provided on the medal lending machine 30 side. it can.

  The medal lending system and medal lending method according to the present invention invalidates a player's medal lending operation because the pachislot machine is in a game state when the medal lending is performed to the pachislot machine via the medal lending machine. This is useful in efficiently renting medals to a player.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a medal lending system according to an embodiment. It is the front view which showed the external appearance of the pachi-slot machine and medal lending machine shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the signal wire | line arrange | positioned between the pachislot machine and medal lending machine shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the state of a pachislot machine, and a PRDY signal. It is a functional block diagram which shows the internal structure of the pachislot machine shown in FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the internal structure of the medal lending machine shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the whole process procedure performed between a medal lending machine, a pachislot machine, and a terminal controller. It is a flowchart which shows the transmission timing adjustment procedure of the rental instruction | indication signal shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the state of a pachislot machine when a stand state is considered, and a PRDY signal. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the pachi-slot machine at the time of considering a stand state.

Explanation of symbols

A Lending request signal line B Lending instruction signal line C PRDY signal line 10 Pachi-slot machine 11 Display unit 12 Operation unit 13 Storage unit 14 Power supply unit 15 Game mechanism unit 16 I / F unit 17 Control unit 17a Game state monitoring unit 17b PRDY signal transmission Section 17c Lending processing section 17d Game control section 20 Card issuing machine 30 Medal lending machine 31 Display section 32 Operation section 33 Bill processing section 34 Card processing section 35 Storage section 36 Power supply section 37 I / F section 38 I / F section 39 Control section 39a Stand status determination unit 39b Lending processing unit 39c Timing adjustment unit 40 Card renewal machine 50 Card settlement machine 60 Island controller 70 Terminal controller (T / C)
80 Pachi-slot machine 81 Control unit 82 Stand status monitoring unit 83 PRDY signal transmission unit

Claims (7)

A medal lending machine installed communicably with a pachislot machine accepts a recording medium with money or valuable value and performs a medal lending process, and in response to this medal lending process, a medal lending that lends a medal from the pachislot machine A system,
The pachislot machine
Determination means for determining whether or not the pachislot machine is in a game;
Notification means for notifying the result of determination by the determination means to the medal lending machine,
The medal lending machine
The medal lending system, wherein the medal lending process is performed when a signal indicating that a predetermined medal lending operation has been performed is received and a determination result indicating that the game is not in progress is received by the notification means.   The determination means is in the in-game state from when an operation of a start lever for starting rotation of a drum with a pattern attached thereto is received until the drum is stopped and the prize medal is paid out when winning a prize. The medal lending system according to claim 1, wherein the medal lending system is determined.   A determination result notification signal line by the determination unit is arranged between the pachislot machine and the medal lending machine, and the notification unit is in a state where the determination unit determines that the game state is in progress. A first signal representing the in-game state is sent to the determination result notification signal line, and the determination result notification signal line is not connected to the determination result notification signal line while the determination unit determines that the in-game state is not established. The medal lending system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a second signal signifying that there is no message is transmitted.   The pachislot machine further comprises an abnormal state detection means for detecting whether or not the pachislot machine is in an abnormal state, and the notification means is determined not to be in a game state by the determination means, and the abnormal state detection 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the second signal is transmitted to the determination result notification signal line when an abnormal state is not detected by the means, and the first signal is transmitted otherwise. The medal rental system described.   When the signal received from the determination result notification signal line is the first signal when the medal lending machine receives a signal indicating that a predetermined medal lending operation has been performed, the determination result notification The medal lending system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a lending instruction is given to the pachislot machine after a signal received from the signal line changes from the first signal to the second signal.   6. The medal lending machine performs error processing when a signal received from the determination result notification signal line does not change from the first signal to the second signal for a predetermined period. The medal rental system described in. A medal lending machine installed communicably with a pachislot machine accepts a recording medium with money or valuable value and performs a medal lending process, and in response to this medal lending process, a medal lending that lends a medal from the pachislot machine A method,
A determination step for determining whether or not the pachi-slot machine is in a game state;
A notification step of notifying the medal lending machine of the determination result of the determination step;
A lending process step of performing the medal lending process when the medal lending machine receives a signal indicating that a predetermined medal lending operation has been performed and receives a determination result indicating that it is not in a game state by the notification means. A medal lending method characterized by including and.

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